Mistakes cost Comets in 28-21 loss to Irish

Published 10:00 pm, Friday, November 1, 2013

SEAN PROCTOR | sproctor@mdn.netColeman's Lars Murray and Sacred Heart's Matt Motz scramble to recover a fumble Friday evening during their playoff game at Coleman High School. Sacred Heart defeated the Comets 28-21. less

SEAN PROCTOR | sproctor@mdn.netColeman's Lars Murray and Sacred Heart's Matt Motz scramble to recover a fumble Friday evening during their playoff game at Coleman High School. Sacred Heart defeated the Comets ... more

Photo: Sean Proctor/Midland Daily News

Mistakes cost Comets in 28-21 loss to Irish

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COLEMAN — Beating a good football team at playoff time usually takes a nearly mistake-free performance. Coleman came up well short in that department on Friday.

Playing their first home postseason game since 2002, the Comets committed four second-half turnovers and had a blocked punt recovered for a touchdown as Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart rallied to win 28-21 in a Division 8 district semifinal.

The game was played in the same cold, rainy conditions as the teams’ previous meeting — a 23-21 Sacred Heart win two weeks earlier. Despite the weather, Coleman was able to connect on some big plays, but the Comets had trouble stopping the Irish’s run game and made too many mistakes.

“It was pretty much the same as two weeks ago. We had opportunities,” said Coleman coach Chad Klopf, whose Comets end at 7-3. “We didn’t really have any mental breakdowns this time, but the ball didn’t go our way a couple of times, and we had a couple of turnovers go against us.

“ ... Our guys played hard,” he added. “ ... I’m happy with the way we played. We played pretty tough.”

Sacred Heart improves to 7-3 and will face No. 1 Beal City, a 69-15 winner over Mio, in next week’s district final.

“My hat’s off to them. Coleman has some excellent skill players, and it’s kind of too bad that somebody had to lose tonight,” said Sacred Heart coach Rick Roberts. “But we’re excited to be moving on, and we’ll see what we can do with Beal City.”

Coleman junior quarterback Adam Stremlow threw two long TD passes to Matthew Warner in the first half to give the Comets a 15-8 lead at the break. But Stremlow also struggled with his accuracy throughout the game and was involved in all four of Coleman’s second-half turnovers.

He finished the game 10 of 21 passing for 204 yards and two TDs with two interceptions.

Klopf said his offense wasn’t bothered by the wet conditions as much as by the Irish’s blitzing defense.

“We stretched inside (at practice) yesterday, but then we came out here and threw it all around in the pouring rain to make sure we could do it,” Klopf noted. “We had the opportunities (to score more), but they started blitzing us, and we didn’t pick it up at times when we needed to, and that caused some errant throws. But that happens.”

Meanwhile, despite loading up against the run, the Comets’ defense struggled to slow down Sacred Heart’s grind-it-out rushing attack. The Irish gobbled up big chunks of clock and finished with 219 rushing yards to Coleman’s 36, led by Austin Neyer’s 113 yards and a TD on 20 carries.

“I think our offensive line is outstanding. And in spite of the fact that Coleman was sometimes putting 10 (defenders) in the box, we were able to get some first downs and move the ball,” said Roberts. “ ... They were selling out to stop the run, and we were determined to keep running the ball, because we didn’t want their offense to have the ball, as explosive as it is.

“I think in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter, we did wear them down,” he added.

Sacred Heart possessed the ball for almost the entire first quarter but turned it over on downs in Coleman territory twice. The Comets then struck first early in the second quarter, as Stremlow connected with Warner for a 55-yard TD. Mitchell Franklin kicked the extra point to make it 7-0.

After the teams traded punts, the Irish went on a 14-play, 68-yard drive and scored on a 10-yard TD pass from Dustin Neyer to Brooks Hyble. Ben Goenner then ran in the 2-point conversion to give Sacred Heart an 8-7 edge with 16 seconds left in the half.

But Coleman answered on the first play of the ensuing possession. Warner split a pair of defensive backs, Stremlow hit him in stride with a perfect pass, and Warner sprinted the rest of the way for a 75-yard TD reception on the final play of the half. Zack Frazer ran in the 2-point conversion, giving the Comets a 15-8 lead at the break.

Coleman’s litany of mistakes began early in the second half, though. After getting pinned back at its own 1-yard-line on the opening kickoff of the third quarter, Coleman was eventually forced to punt from its own end zone. Stremlow’s kick was blocked by Tyler Ahearn and recovered in the end zone by Cole Younger to cut the deficit to 15-14.

On the ensuing possession, a botched handoff between Stremlow and Lars Murray was recovered by Younger at the Comets’ 28. Moments later, Austin Neyer ran for a 4-yard TD, giving Sacred Heart a 20-15 lead.

Coleman immediately regained the momentum, as Warner returned the ensuing kickoff 68 yards for a TD, giving the Comets a 21-20 lead midway through the third quarter. But that was the last thing that went right for Coleman.

The Irish regained the lead for good on Dustin Neyer’s 29-yard TD pass to Goenner with 5:12 left in the game. Meanwhile, the Comets’ final four possessions resulted in two interceptions, a lost fumble, and a turnover on downs at midfield.

“At halftime, we said that our defense had to come up with stops,” said Roberts. “In the first half, Coleman didn’t really move the ball (consistently); they just hit on two big plays. We had to say, ‘That’s enough. We can’t give up any more touchdowns to their offense.’ And we didn’t.”

Sacred Heart finished with a 324-240 advantage in total offense.

Dustin Neyer was 7 of 17 passing for 105 yards and two TDs, while also rushing for 57 yards on 16 carries. Hyble had three catches for 52 yards and a TD.

For Coleman, Warner had four catches for 171 yards and two scores, while Murray rushed for 41 yards on 13 carries.

Klopf said that, despite losing 12 seniors, he expects his Comets to be competitive again next season. He added that he is pleased by how his team pulled together — and brought the community along for the ride — this year.

“Since I got here in ’09, it hasn’t always been about football. It hasn’t always been about wins and losses. It’s been about growing as a family and bringing the community together,” he noted. “ ... That’s been our goal. We had never gotten to that point before, but we’re at that point now. We’re building (the program) the way we wanted to build it, and we couldn’t have done it without these seniors.”